The Walt Whitman Archive

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Catalogs of Manuscripts at Individual Repositories

Catalog of the Walt Whitman Literary Manuscripts in
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens

Original records created by The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and
Botanical Gardens; revised and expanded by the Walt
Whitman Archive and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries. Encoded Archival Description completed with the assistance of the Gladys
Krieble Delmas Foundation, the University of Nebraska Research Council, the
Institute for Museum and Library Services, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This electronic catalog was created from the original catalog records
obtained by The Walt Whitman Archive. The original
papers and catalog records are held at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and
Botanical Gardens.

Scope and Content: The Huntington's Department of Manuscripts holds numerous Whitman items, including
drafts of poetry and prose, correspondence, notebooks, and pieces about Whitman by
other authors. For this catalog, only those objects deemed poetry or prose
manuscripts have been described at the item-level.

Whitman Archive Title: 2Whitman Archive ID: hun.00005Repository Title: ThoughtsRepository ID: HM 11201Date: about 1860Genre: poetryPhysical Description: 1 leaf, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2Content: Draft, with minor revisions, of the second poem in the cluster titled "Thoughts" when it was first published in Leaves of Grass (1860–61). In the 1867 and 1871–72 editions it appeared again as "2" in clusters titled "Thoughts." Finally, in Leaves of Grass (1881–82) Whitman combined parts of this and another poem, again titled Thoughts, and included it in the "By the Roadside" cluster.

Whitman Archive Title: 6Whitman Archive ID: hun.00003Repository Title: ThoughtsRepository ID: HM 11201Date: about 1860Genre: poetryPhysical Description: 1 leaf, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2Content: Draft, with a few corrections, of the sixth poem in the cluster titled "Thoughts" when it was first published in Leaves of Grass (1860–61). In the 1867 edition it appeared again as "6" in the "Thoughts" cluster. In the 1871–72 edition, revised and titled Thought, it was included in the "Songs of Parting" cluster. It did not appear in later editions of Leaves of Grass.

Whitman Archive Title: A Thought on ShakspereWhitman Archive ID: hun.00045Repository Title: A Thought on ShakespeareRepository ID: HM 6712Date: 1881-1886Genre: prosePhysical Description: 6 leaves, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12Content: A fairly late draft of the essay "A Thought on Shakspere," which first appeared in The Critic on 14 August 1886. It would later be reprinted in Democratic Vistas, and Other Papers (1888) and again in November Boughs.

Whitman Archive Title: A Twilight SongWhitman Archive ID: hun.00020Repository ID: HM 1224Date: about 1890Genre: poetryPhysical Description: 1 leaf, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2Content: Late draft, with a few corrections, of "A Twilight Song," a poem first published in the May 1890 issue of Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, where it was subtitled "For unknown buried soldiers, North and South." It was reprinted, without the subtitle, in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) and in the "Good-By my Fancy" annex of Leaves of Grass (1891–92).

Whitman Archive Title: A Visit to the OperaWhitman Archive ID: hun.00038Repository ID: HM 1191Date: 1855-1860Genre: prosePhysical Description: 8 leaves, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16Content: A fairly neat draft of what appears to be a piece of journalism that was never published. Entitled (by Whitman) "A Visit to the Opera," the draft bears many similarities to a piece that Whitman published in Life Illustrated on November 10, 1855, entitled "The Opera." It is likely that this draft is a revision of that earlier piece, intended for subsequent publication in a different periodical. Whitman has numbered the pages, but pages 8 and 9 are missing. Whitman signs the draft "Mose Velsor, of Brooklyn," one of his commonly-used pseudonyms. For more discussion of this draft's relation to "The Opera," and to several other manuscripts, see: Edward Grier, Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts (New York: New York Univeristy Press, 1984) 1:388-397.

Whitman Archive Title: Authors at Home - No. VIIWhitman Archive ID: hun.00039Repository Title: Walt Whitman at CamdenRepository ID: HM 1196Date: 1885Genre: prosePhysical Description: 9 leaves, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18Content: Draft of an article entitled "Walt Whitman in Camden" that Whitman published pseudonymously in The Critic on 25 February 1885. The article, published under the name "George Selwyn," was part of a series called "American Authors at Home" that ran for several volumes in 1885. The article would later be reprinted by The Critic Co. in 1898 as a separate pamphlet entitled Walt Whitman at Home, which credited Whitman as the author of the piece.

Whitman Archive Title: Bed 37Whitman Archive ID: hun.00027Date: 1863Genre: prosePhysical Description: 1 leaf, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2Content: Notes made about a visit to Armory Square Hospital in Washington, D.C. in 1863. Revised versions of these lines were published in "'Tis But Ten Years Since (Fourth Paper)", the fourth of six articles about the Civil War that Whitman published in the New York Weekly Graphic in January and February, 1874. The fourth number appeared on 21 February 1874. The articles were later gathered and republished as Memoranda During the War in 1875.

Whitman Archive Title: Fancies at NavesinkWhitman Archive ID: hun.00014Repository Title: Fancies at Navesink, the Pilot in the mistRepository ID: HM 1190Date: about 1885Genre: poetryPhysical Description: 1 leaf, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2Content: A draft of "Pilot in the
Mist," the first in the eight-poem sequence "Fancies at Navesink,"
first published in the August 1885 issue of Nineteenth Century. On the verso is a letter dated October 3, 1884 to Whitman from Richard Hines requesting information about Martin Farquhar Tupper.

Whitman Archive Title: Old PoetsWhitman Archive ID: hun.00053Repository Title: Old Poets: [essay]Repository ID: HM 50563Date: 1890Genre: prosePhysical Description: 2 leaves, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4Content: A draft of Whitman's essay "Old Poets," with handwritten printer's instructions at the top of the first leaf. The essay was first printed in the North American Review in November 1890 and later reprinted in the Pall Mall Gazette (17 November 1890) and in Good-Bye My Fancy (1891).

Whitman Archive Title: Queries To My Seventieth YearWhitman Archive ID: hun.00011Repository Title: To my seventieth yearRepository ID: HM 11207Date: 1888Genre: poetryPhysical Description: 1 leaf, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2Content: Heavily revised draft, signed, of "Queries to My
Seventieth Year," a poem first published in the May 2, 1888 issue of the New York Herald. It was reprinted in November Boughs (1888) and included in the "Sands at Seventy" annex of Leaves of Grass (1891–92).

Whitman Archive Title: Soon shall the winter's foil be hereWhitman Archive ID: hun.00016Repository ID: HM 1192Date: about 1888Genre: poetryPhysical Description: 1 leaf, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2Content: Heavily corrected draft of "Soon Shall
the Winter's Foil Be Here," a poem published first in the New York Herald on February 21, 1888. It was reprinted in November Boughs (1888) and Leaves of Grass (1891–92), where it appeared in the "Sands at Seventy" cluster.

Whitman Archive Title: The Singer in the PrisonWhitman Archive ID: hun.00010Repository Title: The singer in the prisonRepository ID: HM 11206Date: about 1869Genre: poetryPhysical Description: 4
leaves, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8Content: This is draft of "The Singer in
the Prison," a poem first published in December 25, 1869 issue of Saturday Evening Visitor with the subtitle "A Christmas Incident." Whitman included it, without subtitle, in the "Leaves of Grass" cluster of Passage to India (1871). Finally, in the 1881–82 edition it became part of the "Autumn Rivulets" cluster.

Whitman Archive Title: ThoughtsWhitman Archive ID: hun.00002Repository ID: HM 11201Date: about 1860Genre: poetryPhysical Description: 3 leaves, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6Content: Draft, with minor corrections, of the first poem in the cluster titled "Thoughts" when it was first published in Leaves of Grass (1860–61). It was reprinted in the 1867 edition of Leaves of Grass but omitted from all subsequent editions.

Whitman Archive Title: ThoughtsWhitman Archive ID: hun.00004Repository ID: HM 11201Date: about 1860Genre: poetryPhysical Description: 1 leaf, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2Content: Draft, with revisions, of the seventh poem in the cluster titled "Thoughts" when it was first published in Leaves of Grass (1860–61). In the 1867 edition it appeared again as "7" in the "Thoughts" cluster. In the 1871–72 edition it was titled "Thought" and not included in any cluster. Finally, in Leaves of Grass (1881–82) it appeared as "Thought" in the "By the Roadside" cluster.

Whitman Archive Title: To Him that was CrucifiedWhitman Archive ID: hun.00013Repository Title: To him that was crucifiedRepository ID: HM 11208Date: about 1860Genre: poetryPhysical Description: 3 leaves, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6Content: Draft, with many corrections, of "To Him That Was Crucified," a poem first published in Leaves of Grass (1860–61).

Whitman Archive Title: To Other LandsWhitman Archive ID: hun.00009Repository Title: To other landsRepository ID: HM 11204Date: about 1860Genre: poetryPhysical Description: 1
leaf, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2Content: Draft, with some corrections, of the poem eventually titled "To Foreign Lands," first published in Leaves of Grass (1860–61) as "To other Lands" as part of the "Messenger Leaves" cluster. In the 1871–72 edition it received its final title and position within the "Inscriptions" cluster.

Whitman Archive Title: To a Common ProstituteWhitman Archive ID: hun.00065Repository Title: To a common prostituteRepository ID: HM 11205Date: about 1860Genre: poetryPhysical Description: 1leaf, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2Content: Draft of "To a Common
Prostitute," a poem published first in the 1860–61 edition of Leaves of Grass and retained in all subsequent editions. On the verso is a draft of an unpublished poem entitled "To the Future."

Whitman Archive Title: To the FutureWhitman Archive ID: hun.00008Repository Title: To a common prostituteRepository ID: HM 11205Date: about 1860Genre: poetryPhysical Description: 1 leaf, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2Content: Draft of a poem titled "To the Future." Although the poem was unpublished in its entirety, the seventh line was used in the poem "To My Soul," which was first published in the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass and later retitled "As the Time Draws Nigh." On the reverse is a draft of "To a Common Prostitute."

Whitman Archive Title: You Lingering Sparse Leaves of MeWhitman Archive ID: hun.00015Repository Title: [Leaves of grass]Repository ID: HM 1193Date: May 1885Genre: poetryPhysical Description: 1 leaf, proof with handwritten corrections and annotationsView images: 1 | 2Content: Corrected proof sheet for the poem "You Lingering Sparse Leaves of Me," dated May 1885. The poem
was first published in the November 1887 issue of Lippincott's Magazine
in a collection of four poems titled "November Boughs." It was reprinted in Leaves of Grass (1891-1892).

Whitman Archive Title: You Lingering Sparse Leaves of MeWhitman Archive ID: hun.00017Repository Title: [Leaves of grass]Repository ID: HM 1193Date: between 1885 and 1887Genre: poetryPhysical Description: 1 leaf, proof with handwritten annotationsView images: 1 | 2Content: Corrected proof sheet for the poem "You Lingering Sparse Leaves of Me," which
was first published in the November 1887 issue of Lippincott's Magazine
in a collection of four poems titled "November Boughs." It was reprinted in Leaves of Grass (1891-1892).

Whitman Archive Title: [Come, said my Soul]Whitman Archive ID: hun.00021Repository Title: 'Come said my soul. . .'Repository ID: HM 6713Date: about 1875Genre: poetryPhysical Description: 1 leaf, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2Content: A signed draft, heavily revised, of the untitled poem that Whitman used for some printings of Leaves of Grass, beginning in 1876. It was first published as part of "A Christmas Garland in Prose and Verse" in the New York Daily Graphic of December 25, 1874. The date in the poet's note at the top suggests that this manuscript might represent a revision stage later than the poem's initial publication.

Whitman Archive Title: [Going back far enough]Whitman Archive ID: hun.00064Date: 1886Genre: prosePhysical Description: 1 leaf, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2Content: A manuscript written by Whitman and sent to William Sloane Kennedy, most likely in 1886. Kennedy would use the manuscript, along with several others, in an article entitled "Dutch Traits of Walt Whitman" which appeared under Kennedy's name in In Re Walt Whitman in 1893, a volume edited by Horace Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas Harned, Whitman's literary executors. On the verso is a portion of a letter to Whitman from W.E. Mitchell.

Whitman Archive Title: [I for the old round earth]Whitman Archive ID: hun.00022Repository Title: Preface to Leaves of GrassRepository ID: HM 6714Date: 1863-1867Genre: poetryPhysical Description: 2 leaves, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4Content: Although the repository labels this manuscript as a draft of the Preface to the 1855 Leaves of Grass, it appears to have been written in the mid-1860s and was potentially intended as the opening inscription to the 1867 edition of Leaves (Whitman has written "Inscription, to precede Leaves of Grass, when finished" at the top of the first leaf). While the poem in this form was never published, the line describing the Greek god Kronos as "brown-skinned" may have led to a similar description in "Chanting the Square Deific," which first appeared in Sequel to Drum-Taps in 1865.

Whitman Archive Title: [Most all of the wounds very bad]Whitman Archive ID: hun.00041Repository Title: Notes on hospital experiencesRepository ID: HM 6708Date: 1862-1874Genre: prosePhysical Description: 4 leaves, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8Content: A manuscript describing Whitman's time spent in the army camps and hospitals near Fredericksburg in late December, 1862. The manuscripts are fairly neat and on the verso on the fourth leaf Whitman has written "Proofs," indicating that these were likely handwritten proofs for one of the several newspaper articles that Whitman published about these experiences, articles that would later be incorporated into Memoranda During the War. Some of the lines here first appeared in "Our Wounded and Sick Soldiers," published in the New York Times on 11 December 1864, and were later reprinted in a series of articles written for the New York Weekly Graphic in 1874.

Whitman Archive Title: [Reminiscences]Whitman Archive ID: hun.00033Date: 1864-1865Genre: poetryPhysical Description: 1 leaf, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2Content: A manuscript fragment containing what appear to be poetic lines written about the dead of the Civil War, and which are included at the Huntington Library with a group of notes labeled "Hospital Notes 1863." Edward Grier suggests that these lines may have been for an early version of a lecture that Whitman intended to give on "The Dead in this War." The lines also anticipate portions of "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd." The manuscript is labeled "Reminiscences 64" at the top.

Whitman Archive Title: [Walt Whitman said lately to one of his interviewers]Whitman Archive ID: hun.00036Date: 1886Genre: prosePhysical Description: 1 leaf, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2Content: A manuscript written by Whitman and sent to William Sloane Kennedy, most likely in 1886. Kennedy would use the manuscript, along with several others, in an article entitled "Dutch Traits of Walt Whitman" which appeared under Kennedy's name in In Re Walt Whitman in 1893, a volume edited by Horace Traubel, Richard Maurice Bucke, and Thomas Harned, Whitman's literary executors. It is likely Kennedy's handwriting that appears in dark pencil on the verso.

Whitman Archive Title: [While the schools]Whitman Archive ID: hun.00066Repository Title: Preface to Leaves of GrassRepository ID: HM 6714Date: between 1863 and 1867Genre: poetryPhysical Description: 1 leaf, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2Content: Although the repository groups this manuscript with two other leaves and ties them all to the 1855 Preface to Leaves of Grass, it appears that this is a separate manuscript and that none of them are related to the 1855 Preface. This manuscript was likely written in the mid-1860s and was never published.

Whitman Archive Title: [Write a piece for address]Whitman Archive ID: hun.00019Repository Title: The dead in this warRepository ID: HM 1194Date: between 1864 and 1875Genre: prosePhysical Description: 2 leaves, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4Content: Notes about death during the U.S. Civil War, apparently intended for a projected lecture that never materialized. Whitman used these notes for the short essay "The Million Dead, too, summ'd up—The Unknown," which was first published in Memoranda During the War (1875–76).

Whitman Archive Title: [in life]Whitman Archive ID: hun.00051Repository Title: [Memoranda During the War]Repository ID: HM 16537Date: 1873-1875Genre: prosePhysical Description: 1 leaf, handwrittenView images: 1 | 2Content: A manuscript fragment that, on the recto, contains lines similar to those found in the opening paragraph of Memoranda During the War (1875), and may have been an alternate or earlier version of that introduction. The paragraph first appeared in a slightly different form in the New York Weekly Graphic on 24 January 1874, part of a five-part series about the war that Whitman published in that paper. The verso contains lines which appear in the final paragraph of Whitman's introduction to Memoranda, and were likely written later than the lines on the recto.

Restrictions on Original Materials: Please consult with repository.

Preferred Citation: To identify this catalog as a source, see the Archive's
"Conditions of Use" page.